CT

Covidien has alerted customers for its technetium-99m generators about impending shortages caused by the unexpected shutdown of the Dutch nuclear reactor that serves as its main source of molybdenum-99.

An unscheduled shutdown of the High Flux Reactor at Petten in the Netherlands has raised concern about a possible interruption of molybdenum-99 supplies for nuclear medicine procedures in Europe and North America.

Philips Healthcare put a new twist on SPECT/CT with the unveiling at the SNM meeting in June of a hybrid that incorporates a flat-panel x-ray system in place of the typical multislice CT. The novel combination is attuned specifically to the needs of specialists in nuclear medicine, said Jay Mazelsky, senior vice president and general manager of Philips nuclear medicine.

Nasdaq hears Fonar pleaCarestream extends RIS for mammographySiemens notches CT milestone

FDA links CT exams to failed medical devicesMedicare cuts take effect on Bush vetoAgfa integrates OrthoViewLumedx updates cardiology PACSToshiba CT re-signs with group buyer

The number of students taking radiography and radiation therapy examinations for the first time slowed in 2007, signaling that educational programs are scaling back admissions and the pool of qualified technologists is meeting practice demand. Only nuclear medicine saw a sharp increase -- 17.1 % over 2006 -- although those numbers too are expected to decline, according to the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists.

MDS has filed a $1.6 billion breach of contract lawsuit against Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. and the Canadian government for their decision in May to halt development of a twin nuclear reactor complex designed to provide a long-term supply of molybdenum-99, to be refined and distributed by MDS.

A survey of children’s imaging services has found a twofold variation in radiopharmaceutical doses administered during pediatric nuclear medicine exams. For some radiopharmaceuticals, the reported maximum activities varied by as much as a factor of 10, and minimum activities differed by as much as a factor of 20, suggesting the need for a consensus among nuclear physicians on appropriate doses for young patients.

Pending clinical trial results played a pivotal role in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' decision in March to set aside plans to establish a national payment policy for outpatient multislice coronary CT angiography. Other published trials advanced our understanding of how nuclear cardiology, echocardiography, and cardiac MRI fit in evolving diagnostic practice.

Several radiology-related professional societies have joined forces to urge the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to approve national Medicare coverage for CT colonography to screen patients for colorectal cancer.

Physician groups urge CTC coverageFujifilm unveils breast imaging workstationDR provider extends product line

FDA clears Medrad PET infusion systemiCAD’s Colon CAD nears clinical trialDunlee offers online tube supportCarestream readies IT upgradePhilips completes Zambian healthcare programXoft recruits CMO

Society of Nuclear Medicine officials say the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is manipulating the definition of radiopharmaceuticals to artificially deflate its payment rates for radioactive imaging agents essential to nuclear and molecular imaging practice.

Cardinal Health adds PET to nuclear pharmaciesSiemens opens radiopharmaciesIDC readies DR installations in PakistanInfinitt introduces 3D lineNaviscan detects early cancer signsMirabella joins GenVault board

Liver resection for metastatic colon cancer is painful and debilitating enough, without a patient’s subsequent discovery that the surgery did nothing to halt disease progression. A multicenter prospective trial presented Monday at the Society of Nuclear Medicine conference in New Orleans found that FDG-PET prevents unnecessary surgeries for one of six patients who undergo liver resection based on CT findings.

Dr. Henry J. Wagner Jr. has selected two images, a PET/CT scan showing the early metastatic spread of tumor in a patient’s ear and a SPECT/MRI study of osteomyelitis in another patient’s foot, to exemplify the diagnostic capabilities of nuclear medicine as the 2008 Society of Nuclear Medicine Image of the Year.

FDG-PET/CT is gaining attention for its role in staging and restaging breast cancer. A trial from the Technical University of Munich, presented Sunday at the 2008 Society of Nuclear Medicine meeting in New Orleans, found that PET/CT detected local or distant recurrence in 67% of breast cancer patients and changed the management plan in 33% of the cases.

Varian nabs $320M contractImaging On Call acquires NightVision Radiology Siemens readies Definition AS for marketAgfa takes next step with Chinese providerNuance gets creative

The crash of the radioisotope supply last winter gets a close look in this month's cover story. It details the politics and policy issues that closed down the Chalk River reactor in Ontario for nearly a month, leaving North American nuclear medicine physicians without a reliable supply of technetium-99.

Knowledgeable Canadians considered the molybdenum-99 crisis of 2007 a national disgrace. A squabble between the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission and Atomic Energy Canada, the federal corporation that owns and operates nuclear research facilities at Chalk River, ON, forced the National Research Universal reactor there to shut down. That action triggered a crisis that cut off production of molybdenum-99, the isotope that produces technetium-99m for thousands of health facilities across Canada and the U.S.

Linear accelerator speeds toward PET radioisotope productionFujifilm Europe mints digital lightbox for CDsCT gets milk

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is now accepting public comments on national coverage for CT colonography. Comments will be accepted through June 18, 2008, at the CMS web site.

GE’s Centricity RIS gets smartBrit Systems unveils PACS bundles, remote reading servicesCandelis debuts archive applianceNEC introduces 30-inch medical LCD monitorPhilips presents IT ecosystemSiemens showcases TrueD

Atomic Energy Canada has halted development work on twin reactors at Chalk River, ON. They were the planned successors for an aging research nuclear reactor that is the source of molybdenum-99 isotope used in 19 million nuclear medicine imaging procedures annually.

Persistent ground-glass nodules in the lungs are worth a closer look, as they are highly associated with malignancy. Dr. Anne Leung offered an overview of how these lesions present on CT imaging at the 2008 Stanford International Symposium on Multidetector-Row CT in Las Vegas.